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August 26, 2010By Mike Pascucci Comments
Does anyone really own your community?
Just as in the above clip, if you do not have an answer to this standard question, there will be much confusion.
As stated on dictionary.com, to “own”, as a verb – to have or hold as one’s own; possess.http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/own
Do you not think that your members hold your community as their own? In order for your community to thrive and grow, ownership is a very important aspect to project outwardly to your members . Your membership will (hopefully) always be there, interacting with your business as well as with one another. They will be there when you may not, afterhours and during the weekend. Members who participate within your community are passionate about you (either in a positive or negative way), so you should allow them to have ownership, within reason, of the community area and the content that they post.
Do you believe that you have carte blanch in your community? While you will manage your membership and the content that they post, you do not have the right to remove content simply because you do not like it. If you do so, you will drive people away and end up with a ghost town. The fact is that there are definitely ways to turn critical content, criticisms and feedback into positive situations. When handled correctly, these situations and the way that they are handled can strengthen your community. Empower your members to report content that they feel is in violation of your policies for you to review and remove if appropriate. Just make sure that you follow your implemented policies.
While your business may design, develop, market and manage the community portion of your website, that does not mean that you “own” the community. A true partnership between your business and your members will result in a thriving community where both the business and the community take ownership.
The last thing that you want to do is to make your members feel the way that the goalie feels in this clip. Right now, who “Owns” your community?
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